BentMikey and a Subaru Driver

[cheadle hulme]

Personally I never overtake in a situation that I'm not comfortable being overtaken in, that applies to driving a car or bike. If that means coming to a halt in a cycle lane I damn well will. I overtake on the right hand side of the road I'm out a fair way over into the oncoming traffic if I'm going any speed else I'm going past at walking pace & if a car was that close at that speed I don't mind.

Hi GrasB, your profile doesn't make it clear where you are. In central Manchester, if I never overtook in a situation I'm not comfortable being overtaken in, I may as well travel by car! At least I wouldn't get wet.

My point was that in urban areas, the advantage of cycling is that you can filter and nip between lanes at 20mph with impunity.

This then creates a contradiction in motorists minds as to why we need 2m room when being overtaken at 30mph in suburban areas.

Apologies if I didn't make this clear.

Link back to the OP - speed differential (if MB was doing 20mph) was around 20mph, difficult to tell though as the scooby is braking as soon as it comes into shot.)

 

[GrasB]

See if things were tight I wouldn't be doing 20mph I'd be down at a slower pace for which I'd be comfortable with a car overtaking at that speed difference & distance.

 

[f1_fan]

And some people's lives will be a hell of a lot shorter because of them. I'm not a fan of the filming / witch hunting thing, but sometimes reporting a driver doing something really bad is probably a good idea, since if they get a string of people doing so, said driver may well be reprimanded.

Yes, but at least half of the videos posted on You Tube by Mikey that I have watched aren't really bad. Take the phone one I mentioned. If Mikey really feels that strongly just say to the guy politely 'come on mate, knock the phone on the head will you', but oh no he sticks a camera in the guy's face etc.

Surely some of you can see that this is antagonistic, bordering on OCD and frankly going to end up with Mikey getting a good kicking one day.

 

[hackbike 666]

See if things were tight I wouldn't be doing 20mph I'd be down at a slower pace for which I'd be comfortable with a car overtaking at that speed difference & distance.

I ride in heavy London traffic and I find the biggest dangers at this time are peds appearing from nowhere so in that situation i wouldn't be cycling fast anyway.

 

[ComedyPilot]

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypy07XFArmI


About 5:35 in. 'Car drivers should be aware of the situation and that they are in a machine that could kill, and that they should behave responsibly for that situation'

I found this clip and thought it was applicable here. There has been a conflict between a bike (rider) and a car (driver).

The car driver should (because of their environment - in over a ton of moving metal) behave in a responsible manner.

The cyclist should not have been in the situation in the first place. Due to bad planning and government policy, bikes and cars in the uk share the roads.

This OP incident and the film attached here are proof that our roads infrastructure is woafully inadequate for purpose. The film in Holland also hints that the Dutch were in a similar situation with cyclist/ped/vehicle collisions, but their electorate DEMANDED change, and what a change they got.

 

[hackbike 666]

The big problem here sometimes it seems is the driving is agressive.Seems to be different in other countries.People say Thailand is bad but the first time I cycled there I found it quite cycle friendly.Probably because there are more bikes/motorbikes tuk tuks and anything slow with wheels.

 

[stowie]

My point was that in urban areas, the advantage of cycling is that you can filter and nip between lanes at 20mph with impunity.

This then creates a contradiction in motorists minds as to why we need 2m room when being overtaken at 30mph in suburban areas.

When a bicycle is filtering through stationary traffic, the moving mass is much less than when a car is overtaking a slower moving bicycle. The capacity for the cyclist to get injured or killed in the latter scenario is much higher. And so the motorist should give more space accordingly.

 

[PBancroft]

Yes, but at least half of the videos posted on You Tube by Mikey that I have watched aren't really bad. Take the phone one I mentioned. If Mikey really feels that strongly just say to the guy politely 'come on mate, knock the phone on the head will you', but oh no he sticks a camera in the guy's face etc.

Surely some of you can see that this is antagonistic, bordering on OCD and frankly going to end up with Mikey getting a good kicking one day.

I intended to bow out of this thread, but I find this a rather interesting thing to say. To an extent, I find myself in agreement on both sides. I understand the benefits of having a camera as a passive observer, though I do not have one myself. I can also see how someone having a camera "stuck in your face" being antagonistic.

What I'm not so sure about is the statement - he's going to get a good kicking. I'm sure he doesn't mean if he see's BM with a camera, he's going to give him a good kicking.

But... I kind of at a loss as to why f1 is making this assumption anyway. If BM films someone doing something illegal, and calls them on it - and then BM gets the kicking - Who is in the wrong there really? It isn't BM, though people could make the he shouldn't get involved argument.

To revert back to the OP, there is no way that DAN OK could have known that BM had a camera on him when he stopped his car. That argument is right out the window, and frankly its bordering on ridiculous anyway. To use it as a reason to get out of a car, swear aggressively, threaten someone, or even give someone a "good kicking" is insane. Calm down. As I said before - we're all just going somewhere.

 

[Mark T]

Take the phone one I mentioned. If Mikey really feels that strongly just say to the guy politely 'come on mate, knock the phone on the head will you', but oh no he sticks a camera in the guy's face etc.

Given that talking on the phone while driving is quite a dangerous thing to do - perhaps as dangerous as drunk driving, if statistics are anything to go by, and just as illegal - perhaps a pertinent question is, if you had a camera and you saw someone drinking from a can behind the wheel, would you film them? Or would you just say, 'give it a rest mate?'

 

[PBancroft]

Couldn't agree more, but Mikey isn't just doing that is he? He is threatening these people with You Tube and/or the police and in some cases it would seem actually going to the police.

So while the notion he might want to educate us lowly car drivers about what it is like to ride a bike on the roads is a noble one it is also complete crap.

Why shouldn't he go to the Police if people act dangerously to the extent he is concerned about his welfare on the road? That's kinda what the traffic cops are there for...

 

[dellzeqq]

Yes, but at least half of the videos posted on You Tube by Mikey that I have watched aren't really bad. Take the phone one I mentioned. If Mikey really feels that strongly just say to the guy politely 'come on mate, knock the phone on the head will you', but oh no he sticks a camera in the guy's face etc.

Surely some of you can see that this is antagonistic, bordering on OCD and frankly going to end up with Mikey getting a good kicking one day.

if the incident isn't 'really bad' what's the problem? And he doesn't stick the camera in his face - it's running continually on the front of the bike. Your friend Dan jumped out of the car and made a point of putting his face in the shot.

Carrying a video camera or a still camera is a really sensible thing to do. If you have a problem that you want to take to the police, or the employer of a van driver, or somebody's insurance company then having a photographic or video record is as good as it gets.

The startling thing is the reaction. People shield their faces, roar off at high speed, or, in one case, when I took a picture of somebody's license plate, ran his car aground on the kerb, making a pretty mess of the body panel - and in front of a bus queue on the Farringdon Road.

 

[just jim]

Yes, but at least half of the videos posted on You Tube by Mikey that I have watched aren't really bad. Take the phone one I mentioned. If Mikey really feels that strongly just say to the guy politely 'come on mate, knock the phone on the head will you', but oh no he sticks a camera in the guy's face etc.

Surely some of you can see that this is antagonistic, bordering on OCD and frankly going to end up with Mikey getting a good kicking one day.

Who's head would phone be knocked on? There's a lot of pent up motorist aggression out there just waiting for any opportunity to be unleashed at somebody on a bicycle.

 

[f1_fan]

IWhat I'm not so sure about is the statement - he's going to get a good kicking. I'm sure he doesn't mean if he see's BM with a camera, he's going to give him a good kicking.

But... I kind of at a loss as to why f1 is making this assumption anyway. If BM films someone doing something illegal, and calls them on it - and then BM gets the kicking - Who is in the wrong there really? It isn't BM, though people could make the he shouldn't get involved argument.

LOL, no way did I mean I am going to give him a good kicking, but you know that of course and are just looking for a rise

Look I won't even get involved verbally mate, road rage is just not worth it. I have made mistakes when driving and I have apologised when required. If someone does the same to me I just try and let it pass without so much as a gesticulation as really what is the point? Just get on with life.

What I mean is that someone rightly or wrongly is going to take offence at the camera being pointed at them and the 'this is going to the police/on You Tube' stuff he spouts and take the matter into their own hands. Yes they will be in the wrong, but that does not stop Mikey getting assaulted and at least part of that will be down to his overly antagonistic actions.

 

[f1_fan]

Given that talking on the phone while driving is quite a dangerous thing to do - perhaps as dangerous as drunk driving, if statistics are anything to go by, and just as illegal - perhaps a pertinent question is, if you had a camera and you saw someone drinking from a can behind the wheel, would you film them? Or would you just say, 'give it a rest mate?'

Well being as I do not swallow the being on the phone thing as being anywhere near as bad as drink driving I can't answer your question. Statistics on the subject are all bollocks anyway as the government will massage them to suit their own agenda. Road deaths have not dramatically decreased since talking on the phone was outlawed - end of argument really, but that's for another thread.

Bear in mind the video I am referring was in stationery traffic so really what harm was the van driver doing? Yes he was technically breaking the law, but I wouldn't be shoving a camera in his face and remonstrating with him over it. As I said have a polite word if you feel that strongly, often the more friendly and less antagonsitic approach will yield more results not that Mikey will ever understand that I suspect.

 

[fossyant]

Slightly OT (cos this is getting out of hand)... what do the Scooby lads think of the new model - - now a small hatchback - something's gone wrong there hasn't it......